


I have hands, they should be holding you, holding onto you, that's what they're for.

by cjg



Series: Moments Unseen [3]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: 2-9? is teen and up, Awkwardness, Character Development, Character Study, Comfort, Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Intimacy, Light Smut, Naked Cuddling, Nudity, Only the first chapter is is explicit, Potentially their last kiss, Pre-battle routine, Reflection, Support After Disappointment, The Not You Moment, Vex makes great use of the fact that she's invisible, Voyeurism, comfort and support, hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-07-24 21:34:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16183616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cjg/pseuds/cjg
Summary: The one where we see glimpses into the hours before the Siege of Emon.OrThe one where she wakes up next to him for the first time, the end of the day unsure and he does his best to stay at her side for most of it.From waking up after their night together and up to the moments after the first shots are taken at the Cinder King alternating Vex and Percy POV.Tags will update with each added chapter.This fic is mostly complete and will be updated regularly.Now Complete.





	1. Chapter 1

It’s usually reliable, her internal clock, she’s almost always waking with the dawn even if there’s no light to shine on her, but in this case, she wakes because of the warm body beside her, not because of the sun which is strangely an hour past appearing in the sky. The daze of her half asleep half awake state breaks when she processes Percy's leg next to her own, and his arm slung over her side.

That feeling of euphoria that had been soothed as his steady heartbeat lulled her to sleep slowly after their evening makes itself known again. It almost negates the slight headache she has from the Courage that she’s becoming more aware of as she wakes up fully.

Opening one eye, then the other, she does her cantrip as she studies his face. He seems to be as relaxed if not more so than he was before they fell asleep. 

His other hand is between them, reached out toward her. It’s possible that at some point his hand was under her head, it’s so close to her face.

Needing to touch him somehow she brings her hand up between them to his lips. Feather-light grazes against them before a smile appears, then she moves on to other portions of his face.

The worry lines on his forehead begin to show slowly as she runs a finger over his right eyebrow attempting to get him to open his eyes. She rests her hand on his shoulder as he begins to move. Without opening his eyes his hand shifts from laying across her side to a more secure position between her shoulder blades then pulls her closer. 

He mumbles something about sleep, but she can tell he’s waking up regardless. It seems everything about him is waking up actually. His cock must be aware that he’s currently with her in bed. It’s against her, and she can feel it grow harder as each minute passes. It’s difficult to not see it as both a compliment and an invitation.

She can tell when he is truly awake by the rising blush to his face and neck and how he holds her to him, just a small amount more that brings her that much closer, enough to leave light kisses, just pecks really, along the underside of his jaw.

Wonderfully in response, he begins to drag two fingers lazily up and down her spine. After a minute a shiver runs through her, she feels it shoot to her core and then outward. Goosebumps rise on her skin and she can feel her nipples harden. 

The smile on his face grows slightly; he could feel that against him. His free hand that had been between them shifts to hold her breast. The warmth of his palm feels incredible against her skin. 

Squirming from a light tug to her nipple, he soothes it with his thumb a second later, gently circling it over and over, the callouses on his hands are so much more than she imagined. 

Moving higher to try and get him to open his eyes she says his name once, “Percival,” then places a soft kiss to the side of his lips.

It works, his eyes open, seeing her at least partially. She's not sure if he can see her clearly like this.

He responds with a kiss of his own, this one deep and passionate, it causes her to close her own eyes. His hands are everywhere for a minute. They settle eventually, one cradling her head, fingers tangled in her loose hair the other resting on her hip just holding her sweetly.

Everything he’d been keeping to himself, she can see it all in his eyes now. She had previously thought that they could see through each other fairly well, but apparently, this, in particular, had been well hidden on both sides. Being so close brings those facades down. 

Loving him up close is simpler than it was a day ago from their controlled distance. It's much more fun too.

Wiggling against him a little he responds with a kiss, it hides a moan from him a moment later.

Letting her go after an amount of time she doesn’t bother to quantify, he lays on his back, and that settles the matter of positions in her mind.

Holding herself back before she moves, only to look at him more, she notices the one thing that is missing. Leaning back behind her, she gets a grip on the lone object on the nightstand. 

Placing them on the bed while she straddles him, she gets comfortable against him, a few strokes back and forth through her wet folds, so he brushes against her clit, giving them both a little pleasure before she picks up the glasses and passes them to him. 

The look on his face once she knows he can really see her goes straight to her ego. He seems in awe of her, of what is happening. 

His hands on her hips keep her moving like she was at the beginning, then one moves to tease her clit, “Vex please,” he practically begs after another minute of this, desperate for more.

As she shifts, gripping him, she lines them up, he repeats her name over and over, going mute with a gasp as she begins to sink down on him. Her happy sigh matched with his deep groan when there’s nothing else for her to take in. Warmth rushes in her to every place their bodies meet.

Neither of them moves for a minute, savoring and adjusting to this feeling. A finger returns to her clit, rubbing just how she needs after she squeezes her muscles around him a few times before they begin to move together.

The rhythm they start is faster than the one from last night. Too fast she thinks, slowing down she leans forward trapping his hand between them. Her hands moving from his chest into his hair, pulling a little, she kisses him after, he lets out a silent moan. 

Occupied with kissing, their pace slows to almost a full stop. Little movements that keep everything going but prolongs the moment.

Fuck it’s so good. 

 

 

***************

 

Keeping her close afterward, he touches her gently with calloused fingertips. The noises she makes as he does it, the tiny sighs and the happy giggles, she’s so responsive, he can tell she loves the attention. 

She flips over after a bit, offering him to continue with his touches to the front of her now. 

It’s a new obsession, her skin, learning every inch, finding where she’s ticklish, memorizing the length of every scar, discovering the places she is harder and softer, and mapping the ways he can make her whimper or moan with just a touch. 

He places a kiss to the only scar he can reach; it’s about two inches long on her shoulder, one of her harder places. 

Shifting beside him a minute later, she turns toward him, nothing but their legs meeting.

A hand reaches for his forehead, gentle fingers on his temple, she looks at him considering something for much too long, “How’s your hangover?” 

Taking her hand in his before he answers, “Not that bad, you?” It’s faint, just enough to be noticeable, but altogether better than he anticipated.

Shaking her head into his shoulder, “It’s there, but it’s not awful.”

He kisses her forehead gently, her hair coming between his lips and her skin. It’s impressive when it’s bound in its braid, lose it’s a sight to see but at the same time, it gets everywhere. He loves it though.

Looking at her beside him, he can’t keep in the question that keeps coming to his mind. “I suspect I already know the answer but do you always sleep naked or was that just for this occasion?” he asks softly but he is curious about the answer, she’s never been precious about nudity.

The expression on her face tells him that she was not expecting him to ask that. She thinks for a moment before she says, "You’ll just have to live to find that out now won’t you."

This is not what he wanted to have happen. No dragons or battles exist here in this bed, just the two of them. "Please, not here." 

Thankfully she understands, nodding her head, “I enjoy sleeping naked, and I try to do it as much as I can. Sometimes in inns, I won’t but if I’m at home,” she looks him in the eye, “well, you won’t find a stitch on me.”

Looking toward the doorway, remembering last night, "So that wasn’t planned?"

There’s a small change to her expression; she seems very satisfied with herself. Letting go of her hand, he traces her lips, the upturned corners, hoping she understands his unasked question. 

She’s practically on top of him now. It’s so good to have her there. “I was about to leave to go and find you,” she confesses, kissing his shoulder then laying down her head there after. 

“Oh,” it’s all he can say because that is a very interesting picture she’s just created in his mind.

She laughs at his shocked state, taking his hand again. “Yes, oh.” 

Processing for a minute when he comes back to himself she must be able to tell. “You prefer your long johns?” her tone is curious, a bit mischievous actually. 

He’s not sure where this is going, but he won’t find out without answering her. “In the colder weather, yes."

A lovely grin grows on her face, “Good they’re adorable,” she kisses him gently right near his ear. While he’s considering if he’s alright with his sleepwear being 'adorable' she leans closer and whispers in his ear, “plus they’ll give me easy access to this,” she takes her hand from his, and she brings it over to grab onto the side of his ass.

Startled in surprise for a moment, his mind running slower than usual, “Vex’ahlia.” It’s all he can say, his voice a bit deeper than normal.

“What?” She does her best to seem innocent, but a giggle breaks the illusion.

“So you like it?” he asks taking her hand away from his ass and bringing it up to his lips, kissing her fingertips.

Watching her think this close is fascinating. She frees her hand and ruffles his hair affectionately. “All of you actually.”

Leaning in closer to simply kiss her, she tugs on him gently by his hair and the kiss is more than he intended. He’s practically winded when they part. “How fortunate,” it’s whispered against her lips once he catches his breath back. A difficult feat, since she keeps knocking it out of him.

“It really is,” she responds with a nod against his head, her lips moving to the side of his face and all he can do is just wrap his arms around her and keep her close.

Tickling her a little to try and make her giggle. He can’t get enough of that sound, lighter than her normal laughter, at a slightly higher pitch, more feminine. She’s only been making that sound around him when they’re alone, and that does all kinds of wonderful things to his heart.

Her eyes widen as he tries and succeeds to find a spot that will make her giggle. He stops when she kisses him though, she pulls back after a moment and takes his glasses off his face again and places them gently back on the nightstand. Returning a moment later for more kisses, slower this time. It allows them to both relax into each other.


	2. Chapter 2

A light scratch noise from her door breaks her from her thoughts. From his half-asleep state, he makes a move to get up himself, but she stops him with a hand on his chest, shaking her head she untangles herself from Percy and maneuvers herself off the bed. Her feet hit the floor; it's cold against her feet.

In bed, she'd thought that the scratches were Trinket needing to go out but it looks like Percy already has done that. Opening the door and letting Trinket in, she doesn’t make eye contact with Trinket, and he doesn’t attempt to make it either. He does grunt a little in thanks before lumbering over to his pile of blankets at the foot of the bed.

Turning back to her own bed once she’s closed the door, there’s Percy just as she left him; arm flung above his head, his pale chest covered in scars but relaxed and seemingly calm in a way she envies.

She can feel the nervousness in her stomach this morning, there largely because of what is going to happen later today but another part of this feeling is from, well, a part of her expected him to be disappeared as she turned around, that the last ten hours would only have been a very nice dream. It’s the same doubting part of her brain that half expected him not to be there when she woke up as they fell asleep last night.

It’s possible that her mind will stop having these thoughts eventually. She dearly hopes that it will. Thus far he’s been exactly who she knows him to be, but somehow, at the same time, more than she ever imagined. He’s a surprise that she’s having a great time reacting to instinctively because through it all he’s always the man she loves. That remains a constant.

Getting back into bed his arms circle back around her immediately, bringing her in and mumbling about ten more minutes after kissing her forehead softly, and there it is again, something she didn’t expect, he's affectionate even when he’s practically sleeping. This is what she’s needed without knowing it, a tenderness that is undeniable from him, that chases away some of her nerves.

Ten more minutes, maybe twenty she thinks as she lets herself fall asleep in his arms.

 

**********

 

She knows he’s awake; maybe she noticed when he reached for his glasses, or it’s possible it was when she turned toward him at one point while doing what must be her pre-battle stretches and saw him, as she turned his way again she had a smile on her face. The next time she winked at him. She’s only in her underclothes and without her breast band while this happens, and well, he’s spoiled for choice of what to look at.

After she finishes her stretches, her first task seems to be brushing out and containing her hair. It takes less time than he expects. He’s fascinated by the speed at which she can braid her hair. He’d like her to teach him if they get the chance.

Dressing after, breast band first then leggings, thin blouse then light tunic. It’s strange but watching her get ready for this day feels like it should be added to the list he has in his head of the most intimate moments they’ve shared.

She’s just going about her business, but he can’t help but be fascinated by the most mundane parts of this. She laces up her boots as any other person would, but he watches with all his attention just because it is her.

Once it seems like she’s ready, she turns to him properly for the first time, a grin on her lips. Climbing on the bed, she hovers over him just looking him over from top to bottom.

Kissing him once softly, then again with more force, “I’m going on a walk with Trinket, I’ll be back soon.” He nods, and she leaves him there on the bed.

Trinket moves from his position beyond the foot of the bed toward the door with her. She stops short after she opens the door.

Turning to him just for a moment she winks in his direction, and then she and Trinket are out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

After getting back from her walk with Trinket she returns to her room, Percy is gone as she expected, along with his scattered clothing. 

Getting one good look around, she takes the empty Courage bottle from the floor and places it on the top of her dresser as the lone memento of the night before, now that he and his things are gone.

He's left the other three bottles in her room too. Taking the bag, she leaves her room and walks down the hall to his. Knocking lightly, the door opens a moment later, his face going from a neutral expression to a happy smile when he sees her.

Mostly dressed for the day now, shirt, trousers, ascot, unbuttoned waistcoat, dropping the bag from her hands and ignoring how they clank when they hit the ground, she steps forward and pulls him in for a kiss that he returns with equal force. He doesn't try to control the kiss though, no, he leaves that to her.

Once they part he looks down at the bag beside her confused, “I don't know what to do with these," she explains. 

His eyebrow raises slightly, “I do think that these are ours now, at least, I don't want to put them back." 

Nodding at his words, she lets him disentangle himself a little while she still holds on to him as she begins fastening the tiny pearl-like buttons of his lavender waistcoat. He rests his chin on her head as she does it.

“The fire potions,” he says suddenly, “I still have them, would you like to be in charge of them?

"You know me so well," she smiles as he leaves her in the doorway. He takes the sack of liquor and brings it over to his other supplies and trades it for what seems to be a densely packed leather bag in the corner of the room. He picks it up, and she can hear the shaking of glass inside, not unlike the bag of liquor, just more of it.

"I'd like one of these later." His voice clear, but she knows he’s trying not to think about it, what the rest of today may bring.

He places the bag just outside in the hallway. As he comes back in she makes a grab for him, overcome with just a need to be close to him once more, she hugs him to her. 

Reveling in the feeling of comfort that the closeness brings, it's a moment that she suspects they both need. Neither of them make any move until she loosens her side of the hug.

The skin on his neck is pink, but his face is turning a darker shade as they part. He kisses her on the forehead though regardless, just a sweet touch that makes her insides squirm. 

Moving to finish dressing, he goes over to the table in the room that has his supplies laid out on it. Taking care so that they won’t shatter, he attaches their three bottles of liquor to his supply belt and puts it back down on the table. 

He stands and the coat goes on, the one he wore on Glintshore that Keyleth and herself mended as best they could before leaving to kill Vorugal. He's right; it's not worth using any of the other coats. It's the lightest one he has, besides it will probably take a lot of damage today. No point in ruining another one.

 

*************

 

Hands rest on his shoulders as he cleans his weapons. A reminder that she's still here and hasn't stealthed away through the open door. 

He's going to clean each weapon three times, one more than usual. All the time thinking of their last battle at the fort. Today won't be like that; he won't let it.

The reality of the day keeps hitting him square in the head, the restless feeling in the castle is palpable this morning, but there’s an odd quietness though, that he appreciates.

"I regret not being able to make you any arrows for today." He says this as she steps away from him.

"We’ve been so busy darling," she shakes her head as she comes into his view. Sitting down on the edge of the table a few feet from him, close enough to touch if he wanted. 

“Darling yesterday…” she begins sounding unsure, "about the arrow, I never intend to use it," she pauses thinking, "It seems trivial now when it could help but..."

“My favorite, I really did say that,” interrupting her, a smile on his face now, remembering his own words when he presented the arrow to her. For the first time since she started this, she looks him in the eye.

“Yes, well I know what that means now,” she says with a matching grin to his own, she reaches a hand out to him. He takes it with both of his own after he puts what he was working on down on the table.

His hands aren’t clean, but it seems she doesn’t notice or she doesn’t care. Either way, he can’t help but question how did he not realize this was love earlier? Reflecting back on this even a little makes him feel very foolish, he should have known.

“Morning.” Grog’s voice calls from the hallway breaking the moment. Her hand slips out from between his as she gets off the table and walks towards the door. He picks up his work again and listens to the conversation, only half paying attention.

"Morning Grog," she says, he can hear glass moving after a moment, "Grog, could we put these potions in the bag of holding we’re going to need them later," she explains then there's some rustling of fabric and more jostling of glass.

Once that seems to be complete, he hears Grog ask, "Are you guys having breakfast?"

"Soon, I think. Don’t wait for us,” she says then there’s a moment where Grog must walk away because then he hears her close the door slowly. 

“He’s right, you should eat something,” he says once she joins him again. 

“You should too,” is her quick reply, that grin on her lips again. 

Sighing he looks back down at the work in his hands, “I need ten more minutes.” 

There’s a pause that’s just a second too long, “Would you like me to stay?” Oh, how tempting is that offer, but he shouldn’t keep her. 

“I’ll be down soon,” he looks up at her to assure her he means it, “when I’ve finished.”

Nodding her head, she turns to leave, but at that same moment in a split second he puts his work down and reaches for her as he stands. Once she's in his arms, he kisses her hairline first, then down to capture her lips with his. 

A simple soft goodbye, its reminiscent of their first real kiss in the forest. She's blushing once they part, it's a lovely sight. The pink tint, going all the way up to her ears.


	4. Chapter 4

When she actually makes it to breakfast she has a new pair of boots on; they don't smell as bad as she's always joked and having them for the battle does make the knots in her stomach ease a bit.

Reaching her usual place at the table, she notices that her cup is already full.

It’s warm when she picks it up; the scent is familiar and comforting, Keyleth’s glissfoil tonic. Looking across the table at their druid, she’s in an animated discussion with Percy about something called skysails.

Keyleth isn't facing her, but Percy is, he catches her eye then very awkwardly drops his fork that he was about to eat from and takes a large gulp of whatever is in his cup.

She can guess what it is.

As he puts the cup down, he winks at her with the eye that's further from Keyleth.

She can feel a blush rise on her face accompanied by butterflies in her stomach. Hiding her blush at least, in her cup. She drinks the contents right up, hoping it starts to work soon on her lingering hangover.

Gods damn it, butterflies in her stomach really, how sappy is she? How considerate is he? How happy is she?

Most of breakfast is spent in her head answering those questions and ignoring most of the conversation happening around her.

Every few minutes she looks over at Percy, sometimes he’s not looking at her but in other moments he is, and that fluttering in her stomach comes back in full force.

Damn butterflies.

 

****************

 

They're all keeping close to each other today, moving in a pack, more so than usual. It gives him the opportunity to linger unassumingly two feet to her left, at her side just as he should be.

Outside of their rooms, it seems the hesitancy he once had about touching her asserts itself again. Apparently, she does not suffer in the same way, every accidental graze of hands causes him to blush, by the early afternoon he'd swear she's doing it on purpose.

He loves it though, all the teasing. It reminds him that this is real. That if he wanted he could reach out to take her hand, pull her into a hug, kiss her even. Perhaps the courage it would take to do that is being stored for later.

Thinking back to last night and this morning there were few words of the future spoken between them, wishes yes but no promises made. The fear of jinxing themselves is too potent.

No mention of love passed their lips; he hopes she knows though, she must, she’s always been able to see, understand him better than most. He feels it from her at least, the love she has for him. It’s obvious, at least now it is. 

They had last night and this morning; he dearly hopes that those moments won't be all they get.


	5. Chapter 5

She pulls him into her room as he passes by, “You were not as quiet as you thought you were darling,” she murmurs before bringing him in closer to her, pushing his back into the wall while closing the door.

Surprised by the ambush only for a moment, then he just seems adorably confused. 

"When Vax and Kash were sparing," she tries to explain. He seems to get it after a moment.

A wide smile spreads across his face, “It’s the truth though, you and your brother are very different, dear,” Fuck there’s that tone of voice again.

He kisses her then, which distracts and soothes in equal measure. He tastes of the raspberry jam Laina put on top of the cookies she baked today, it's delicious.

“I heard what you said in that smug tone of voice, and it made me happy.” She kisses him lightly on the corner of his mouth, “It made me want to kiss you in front of everyone,” she tightens the grip she has on him, “I didn’t know if you would want that, which is why I’ve pulled you in here, to have you all to myself.”

Oh saying that out loud is so much better than when it was just in her head. 

Kissing him again, he’s more pliable under her hands suddenly, tension leaving his shoulders as she holds on to them.

“I can assure you that I wouldn’t have minded,” he says when she moves down to give some attention to his jawline. 

“That's very good to know,” she whispers between kisses. 

They stay like that for a while, holding each other and trading kisses against her bedroom wall. No clothes get taken off; they simply don’t have the time for it sadly. 

A knock on the door interrupts them, and a growl grows in her throat. He looks so adorably surprised by the noise.

Untangling herself from him, she steps closer to the doorknob so she can open it if necessary, “Who is it?”

“Vex can I borrow my brother from you for a minute,” Cassandra’s voice is clear, but there’s a quiver to it that in an instant makes her believe that it is Cassandra. 

Trading places with Percy, before he moves to open the door, she looks him over though and straitens out his clothing a bit. 

Once he leaves the room and closes the door behind him, she steps away from the door giving them some privacy. 

Sitting down on her bed, she gives her mind over to the thought that’s nagging her. 

“She knew to come here?” she asks after he comes back inside and closes the door behind him. 

He doesn’t reply until he is closer to her, “Can’t little sisters always tell about these things?”

“We can,” she starts but then she looks at him closely, there’s something about his expression, “but this is more than that, I can see it on your face.”

“Honestly I think she’s had some ideas about this from the moment she first saw us,” he sits down on the bed beside her, “but I’m sure she knew when I told her about titling you, I didn’t do that very subtly.” 

“Oh,” she says quietly, siblings just can see these things, thinking of her brother, “Vax knows, or suspects about last night. He looked at me strangely earlier.”

“Of course he did,” he laughs a bit then turns to look at her, wraps an arm around her, hand on her waist.

They can’t get too comfortable, with a sigh she rests her head on his shoulder and says, “We should get ready to leave.”

“You’re right,” she can hear the resolve in his voice, but he doesn’t make any motion to leave, doesn’t let her go, even when he does a few minutes later she can tell he didn’t want to.


	6. Chapter 6

Decoding her face after Keyleth's scry spell, he sees clearly the tiny changes in her expression that he didn't know until this moment that he understood the meaning of.

She’s been let down so many times by her father; he saw that when they first met him in Emon and again when they were in Syngorn, a cup of tea in his hands.

"You wanted to talk to him?" he wishes he could take this pain from her. She doesn't look at him.

Stepping toward her, she stops him dead. “Please Percival don’t," her voice is so small; not at all like her.

Backing off just a bit, he watches her process all the thoughts in her mind ignoring for a few moments the conversation around them.

Syldor the inevitably disappointing indeed.

 

********

 

"Oh gods, weren’t we supposed to grab something earlier? My brain is just turning to mush.” He says it to the rest of the group but she knows he’s only talking to her.

How it's not obvious to everyone else what he's trying to do, she will never understand. She appreciates it; she does, him trying to get her to laugh and smile.

He’s proving himself to be adorably good at it too; his acting is just that bad.

Scanlan interrupts the moment, “We got it already."

He continues the bit as they all continue to watch Drake run down from the castle. "Oh, we got it already; never mind, that’s right,” after he says that, he looks right at her. At that moment she can’t help but return his smile.

It’s not because of the act that she smiles, no, it's because he's trying to make her happy. 


	7. Chapter 7

Of all the promises he’s ever made he’s particularly glad that he gets to keep this one. Catching her eye as he says, “Back to Greyskull,” it’s the most he can do really, but her expression does wonders. 

She still remembers his words.

Remembering the day they last left this place, he’d done his best to reassure her then, and it seemed to work. He wasn’t sure why that was at the time, but he does now. 

So much has actually changed since they last saw the keep but very little of their motivations has. There is a layer beneath everything that they said and did back then. One he suspects they both weren’t completely aware of until recently and that still feels unbelievable. 

They’re the two of the group that finishes searching the keep first. Going back into the temple where there’s a sense of calm compared to the rest of the place. Sitting on the floor, their backs against the stone walls not talking just being next to each other, just processing being back here. 

When they had left he still did consider Greyskull just as much his home as Whitestone, it hasn’t even been two months, but that has changed so much, it’s startling. 

The place that you hold dearest, that’s how she described it when he was dead, he realizes exactly how accurate her words were then. 

There are still ghosts that haunt him in Whitestone, there always will be, and he won’t lie to himself about that. 

She shifts, his eyes following the movement of her hand as it comes down to rest on the ground between them. He rests his hand beside hers, slowly moving to cover her own.

It’s not an appropriate thought to even be having, but he wonders which place she considers more of a home now, Greyskull or Whitestone.

 

**********

 

He hasn’t said the word yet, neither of them has, not since this started.

Love

It’s fitting she thinks that the first time she should hear it from him after they begin this relationship is when they’re in a tunnel, and it’s him asking so politely for a potion. There are people between them, she can’t even really see him, but he says that word twice, “I would love- I would love a fire resistance potion, if one exists.”

Perhaps he said it twice because of nerves, but it’s also possible he said it twice because it’s her he is talking to.

Her heart melts at that thought, it’s so damn sappy, really, she knows it is, but it’s nice to speculate on.

“Of course darling, whatever you need.” Trying to keep the emotion she feels out of her voice, she thought she succeeded, she really did, but then she can feel Vax looking at her strangely for a moment right after.  
She was never going to fool him.

“I’ll take the fire resistance. All right, one fire resistance.” There’s that smug tone of voice he gets, it creeps into his words, and she can’t help but smile. 

Love, she loves him, but when he talks, she could listen to him speak for days. She also wants to jump his bones, but that’s really beside the matter. 

She really needs to focus.


	8. Chapter 8

When he suggested that everybody hold hands, he didn’t expect to feel her invisible hand slip into his. 

A pleasant surprise and a welcome distraction, if nothing else. 

She leaves for moments of mischief, tugging on Kash’s braid and to scout ahead but she comes back each time which is very nice.

It’s weird seeming; his hand looks so much bigger than it actually is, it doesn’t even look like he’s holding on to anything, but he is, and that matters. 

Somehow deep down it matters a lot.

 

********

 

That the plan is going almost too well so far is concerning. Thanks to their guide they might make it in time for sundown and that makes her even more worried. 

That by itself is such a strange thing, their plans working so well.

While she tries to put poison on the tips of some arrows, suddenly they stop, it's as far as they can go. 

The lightning flashes every few moments and in the middle of it is the roar of that terrible red dragon. She can feel Vax beside her; an invisible hand squeezes her shoulder. 

Blinking and looking at some of the others as their guide leaves, her eyes find Percy and he too seems shaken by the roar, what a sane man he can be when he thinks no one is watching.


	9. Chapter 9

After Vex and Vax return from scouting and as everyone else speaks very animatedly about how they should take care of the fire giants guarding the cloud top he feels a tug on his sleeve. 

Finding her hand is not hard at that moment.

She guides him over to the edge of the group slowly, naturally, as to not make anyone notice his moving. 

It must look as if he’s peering down the tunnel the way they came, once it seems that no one will remark on anything he feels her hands come up to cup the sides of his face. Then her lips are against his.

Oh, so that’s where this is going. 

Closing his eyes, this becomes suddenly much less awkward. He knows where she in front of him but kissing her while she’s still invisible is just unnerving with his eyes open. 

Holding her to him with a hand on her back, after a few moments she makes the kiss more intense, nipping at his lip as one hand leaves his face and brings his hand down to her ass.

He almost makes a sound but manages not to.

After what must only be fifteen seconds, the moment ending much too quickly for his liking, she backs away from the kiss, resting her head on his shoulder and bringing a hand up to rest over his now rapidly beating heart. 

He covers her hand with his own and squeezes lightly three times; a silent "I love you." The gesture learned and left over from his parents, from when it would be inappropriate to say the words out loud.

When she moves a moment later, he still has hold of her hand. Bringing it to his lips, he places a kiss above her knuckles than repeats the three small squeezes again. 

Momentarily shocked when she repeats the gesture, there is no way that she could know what it means, but he will gladly consider the possibility that maybe she does.

 

********

 

She watches him take his shots; pleased that he hits the dragon.

Seeing him hide back behind the wall, she hears him yell winded with fear, “I’m regretting so many things right now!”

In that split second the dragon disappears from her mind, her concentration breaks and there’s an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach. 

He couldn’t mean... Could he? 

“Not you!” he shouts turning toward her a second later. Suddenly she can breathe easily again. The rest of his words are lost to her. 

Catching his eye, she knows he means it. He realized how that first part came out and didn’t want her to question.

She’d like to think that she would never actually stop to kiss him at this moment, it would be too foolish and reckless. 

However, she’d be lying if she didn’t admit to considering it, one more kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is it, since posting this last chapter I now have officially published more than 100,000 words of perc'ahlia fic.
> 
> I hope you've all enjoyed this fic. The format of this fic really seemed to work for me writing wise and if you'd like to see more of this back and forth pov style let me know and I'll see what I can do.
> 
> Again and always: Comments and Kudos greatly appreciated.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos greatly appreciated.


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